Éric Cantona drops debut album: The multi-talented artist reveals all

At 59, Éric Cantona has just dropped his first album. Anyone who's watched him wander the English pitches like a tortured poet won't be surprised. "I'm living more and more in the moment, guided by instinct," he says. And honestly, listening to his songs, you've got to take him at his word. It's raw, it's direct, it's pure him.

Guy Roux, the padlocks, and the urge to break free

To really get this album, you've got to remember the kid he was. There's that story doing the rounds: back at Auxerre, old man Roux used to slap padlocks on the windows to stop his young lads from sneaking out at night. But even then, Éric Cantona was slippery as an eel. He'd always find a way to leg it. Until the day he got caught. That hunger for freedom? It's still there, thirty years on. It cuts through his songs just like it used to slice through opposing defences.

And then there's this image that keeps popping up. At parties, on young kids' t-shirts, I see that famous cardboard mask of his face everywhere. That distant look, the collar turned up. A pop icon that's gone way beyond football. Those Éric Cantona t-shirts, with his punchy one-liners or that angelic face, are flying off the shelves. Proof the legend's still alive and kicking.

"Music is the most important thing for me now"

So yeah, he's singing now. And he puts it bluntly: "Music is the most important thing for me now." The man who's done it all – film, theatre, ads – lays down that baritone voice over electronic soundscapes. He delivers his lyrics in English, in French, as naturally as breathing. With this debut, I reckon you find everything that makes this bloke a one-off:

• The kid from Marseille, rough around the edges but full of light.
• Manchester's number 7, that raw, wounded soul lifting trophies.
• The actor, who lent that famous face to Ken Loach.
• The old sage, dropping seemingly throwaway aphorisms that are worth their weight in gold.

I've had the album on repeat. There are moments of pure grace, flashes of brilliance. You can tell he took his time, waited until he had something worth saying. No filler, just pure instinct. Like an Éric Cantona who's finally found his escape route to express what's burning inside him.

The man who moves through the ages without ageing a day

That's the craziest thing about him. All it takes is a cardboard mask meme on social media, some kid wearing an Éric Cantona t-shirt on the train, and the legend rolls on again. He's become this timeless fixture in the French scene, this chic rebel everyone wants a piece of. So his album might not top the charts. But that's missing the point. He went and did it. He opened up, his way, no frills. And honestly, these days, someone who still dares to be himself? It's bloody refreshing.